I'm a first time poster, and I hope I'm putting this in the correct thread.

I took my cat to the vet today, and he told me to give him Viralys Powder, and to just sprinkle it on his food. But the problem is that my cat refuses to eat it now.

I was wondering if there was any liquid that I could mix the Viralys Powder with, so that I could administer it to my cat via syringe. I've had to give him medication via syringe once before as well. I read online that someone said to mix it with chicken broth, and someone else said warm water.

Just curious if anyone knows what I could mix it with, so that it will still have the same beneficial effects as it would if he were eating his food.

Thank you very much!

sugarcatmom

November 20th, 2010, 09:46 PM

Does your cat have a URI?

You could just go to a pharmacy or health food store and pick up some L-lysine powder. It won't have all the extraneous ingredients that Viralys has (to make the supposedly "palatable base" :rolleyes:) which are probably what's offending your cat. Plain L-lysine is pretty much flavourless. It's also way cheaper.

Otherwise, try mixing a small dose of the Viralys in an extra tasty/stinky treat like canned low-sodium salmon or plain chicken baby food. Gradually increase to a full dose so that your cat gets used to it.

One other thing: are you just sprinkling it on top of the food, or thoroughly mixing it into the food? Does your cat eat wet or dry?

kristielive

November 21st, 2010, 12:55 PM

Hi,

Thanks for your suggestions.

A few days ago my cat started sneezing, and then his nose got so plugged up that he doesn't eat anything at all. That' when I took him to the vet. The vet said he had a virus that was affecting his respiratory system, and gave him a shot of Convenia. He sent me home with some Homeopathic-Ars (drops that I put in his water), Amoxil, and Viralys Powder.

He will still drink water with the drops in it, but he just doesn't eat. I have a syringe in which I administer the Amoxil liquid through (it's pink liquid), but since my cat won't eat anything, it makes no sense for me to sprinkle the Viralys into his food.

The recommended dose of Viralys power for him is one scoop, twice daily. So I was more or less wondering if I could mix one scoop with water, and give it to him via syringe. Then later during the evening, I'd give him the other one. But I don't know if mixing the Viralys powder with water will make the powder lose some of it's healing effects or not...

Crazy4kitties

November 21st, 2010, 03:25 PM

Yes you can mix it with water, but usually they take it better if it's mixed with plain chicken baby food. My cat had a severe URTI in July, I went out and got the plain 500mg L-lysine capsules from a health food store (way cheaper than viralys!), broke open the capsules and gave her 1/2 morning and night. At first I had to mix with the wet food and syringe feed, but once she started feeling better she ate the food on her own. Unfortunately there is no cure for a virus, only supportive care to help them get through it on their own. The antibiotics are for any secondary infection which may occur, and the lysine is an immune system booster.

Another tip for urti kitties is giving them "steam showers" - putting them in the bathroom while you run a hot shower for 15-20 min. The steam helps soften the mucous, just like for humans. Good luck!

sugarcatmom

November 21st, 2010, 04:40 PM

The vet said he had a virus that was affecting his respiratory system, and gave him a shot of Convenia.
:wall::wall:

Why is he also on Amoxil if he received a Convenia shot?

Common side effects of Amoxil are stomach pain and nausea, and on top of not being able to smell his food, it's no wonder your cat isn't eating. If it were me, I'd be stopping the Amoxil immediately. It's absolutely crucial that your cat eat at this point, as he is in jeopardy of developing hepatic lipidosis if he doesn't. Try feeding him something really stinky, like sardines, tuna, salmon, whatever it takes. Putting him in a steamy bathroom is also a good idea. Your cat has to eat!!! Getting Viralys into him is the least of your concerns right now.

kristielive

November 22nd, 2010, 05:02 PM

Thanks again for all the supportive and helpful info. I called my vet this morning and he said it would be okay to mix the Viralys with water. He also said that if he doesn't start eating by tonight, to bring him in tomorrow.

I've bought the stinkiest things I could find (tuna, sardines, etc...) but he just won't eat it. I even tried putting a little piece in his mouth, but he pushed it out with his tongue.

I'm thinking that I'm going to have to syringe feed him something tonight, but am not 100% what. I did some searching today online and some people have syringe fed their cat the gravy from the "chicken/beef in gravy mix" cat food, easy to digest version of whiskas cat milk, and baby food. Tomorrow morning when I see my vet, I'm going to ask what kind of liquid diet he could recommend.

Has anyone had any experience syringe feeding their cats the kinds of things I read about online today? My cat still drinks water and uses the bathroom, and he seems to have a bit more skip in his step today than yesterday, but I'm so terribly worried about him not eating and developing something worse.

sugarcatmom

November 22nd, 2010, 05:32 PM

Tomorrow morning when I see my vet, I'm going to ask what kind of liquid diet he could recommend.

I would first try an appetite stimulant to see if that works. Cyproheptadine is commonly used, but mirtazapine is another good one that also controls nausea, which cypro doesn't. It also only needs to be given once every 3 days if necessary, not twice a day, making administration easier. Did you also tell the vet you were stopping the Amoxil?

If you do have to resort to syrine feeding, pick up a can of Hill's A/D from the vet and dilute it into a soup with some warm water. Plain chicken baby food (no onions) is another good temporary choice.

Some more info for you assisted feeding:
http://assistfeed.com/Enticing.htm
http://assistfeed.com/feline_assisted_feeding.htm

Crazy4kitties

November 22nd, 2010, 11:11 PM

I hated feeding the a/d, but it flows well through a syringe and my cat didn't mind the taste. I also syringe fed chicken baby food. You could also puree some normal wet food if you want. I think those are your best options. I used a 12cc syringe and just slowly pushed small amounts into the side of her mouth at a time. It took a while but a few days later she had her appetite back and I no longer needed the syringe.

sugarcatmom suggested two good appetite stimulants, I would speak to the vet about those. Hope your boy feels better soon!

kristielive

November 24th, 2010, 06:03 PM

The a/d does feed good through a syringe. The vet said to try this first before going to an appetite stimulant.

My cat never really ate much before. He wasn't a "fat" cat, he's always been slim (not painfully thin though). I asked the vet how many cc's I should give him in one sitting, and she recommended 3 cc's every two or three hours. But I'm still unsure of how many cc's an adult cat should have per day. My cat was always about 7 pounds, but since he's been sick I'm guessing he lost at least one pound.

He doesn't seem to mind the a/d food, but he still can't smell anything, and therefore won't eat on his own. I wish I knew what to do for him so that he could smell through his nose. At some points during the day, he'll walk around a lot more and appear more "chirpy", but other times, he just walks across the floor meowing until he gets to his bed.

People tell me that it may take a while for a cat to recover from this sort of thing, but I'm thinking I may take him for a visit to the vet again soon just to see what the vet thinks. My main concern now is weight loss, so I'm going to ask for the appetite stimulant when I go in next.

Thanks every1

kristielive

November 25th, 2010, 10:25 AM

If a cat is on a liquid diet (being fed through a syringe), should he still be pooping (sorry, don't know how else to say it!), or just peeing?

Crazy4kitties

November 25th, 2010, 10:52 AM

Mine still pooped during the week and a half she was syringe fed a/d. Then she got constipated, which was a whole other issue! She's fine now though :D

There are other posters who will be able to give you some more info on how much to feed per day, I think an adult cat should be getting almost a full can of a/d, if not more, per day.